MG Cyberster debuts in UK with prices starting from $70,000

MG is no longer a UK brand but it is still revered in the country and a lot of people have fond memories of it. The company is not forgetting about its roots either and so freshly after being revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show, Cyberster has been featured at a special event in London to celebrate the UK ties.

The MG Cyberster on display in London is still a pre-production unit, but there are no planned changes, for the exterior or interior. The deep-cherry-red roadster with its black alloy wheels and red interior is a sight to behold. MG is making two-seater sports cars again and although it is no longer a UK brand, the spirit of MG lives on.

Unlike the good-old MGs of the old days, the Cyberster is straight from the future but it carries tons of classic influences. The front - Maserati, the body line - Jaguar and Mazda, the rear - well, that’s 100% MG. The scissor doors are almost too much, they’re huge and when they open you better make sure there are no low-hanging lights. Overall - a show-stopping roadster that will have people asking questions.

MG is still not showing any official images of the cockpit which is surprising, given all who saw the car in person were impressed by the 4-screen setup. Three of those screens surround the driver with the passenger having their own dedicated display. Spy shots and the first videos from China show a yoke steering with a multitude of buttons.

There are two models of the Cyberster - 231 kW (310 hp) RWD and 400 kW (536 hp) AWD. The company is keeping quiet about the size of the battery, the driving range and the performance figures are still a secret as well. What isn’t a secret any longer is the pricing.

MG calls the Cyberster the “world’s first affordable EV roadster” - and then it suggests the 310 hp model will start at nearly $70,000 (£55,000) while the AWD 536 hp model will start at over $81,000 (£65,000) - that’s €63,250 and €75,000 respectively. Somebody please, lend the MG a dictionary with the word “affordable” marked with fluorescent yellow.

Sure, it’ll be half the price of the Mercedes SL and about as dear as the BMW Z4 but this is MG, it is supposed to compete with Mazda MX5. The truth is, MG has grown up, it is 4.35 meters long which is nearly half-meter longer than the MX5. The power output alone places it in a much more expensive class of roadsters and being the only one on the market - unless you count the €300,000 Wiesmann Thunderball - it can call itself the most affordable. It’s easy to be a king when there’s nobody around.

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